Nail pulling device



June 12, 1951 H. BAKER 2,557,045

NAIL PULLING DEVICE Filed June 13, 1949 HA L .5 A K E R INVENTOR.

Patented June 12, 1951 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE NAIL PULLING DEVICE Hal Baker, Boise, Idaho Application June 13, 1949, Serial No. 98,703

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in carwith the hammer head or crow bar or applied thereto as an attachment made of a higher grade steel than that used in the production of the tool.

These and other objects will appear as my invention is more fully hereinafter described in the following specification, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and finally pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a perspective view of a hammer head made in accordance with my invention and shown in operative engagement with a nail and in the process of withdrawing the nail from a wooden timber.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the invention.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of Figure 2 showing a modification of the invention applied thereto.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing:

The hammer head generally indicated by reference numeral l is of more or less conventional design for attachment to the usual handle 2 and isformed with a pair of outwardly curved claws 3 used for engaging a nail directly beneath the head thereof for pulling the nail by the lever action of the handle. The outermost end 4 of the handle along with the top surface of the hammer head becomes the fulcrum for the load to be lifted by the claws. In order to provide sufiicient leverage to pull nails of the larger diameters and lengths it is necessary to place a block or other suitable spacer between the hammer head and the work from which the nail is being withdrawn.

In my new and improved hammer head I provide an auxiliary gripping means disposed in fixed relation to the fulcrum point of the hammer head to provide maximum leverage in dealing with nails of all sizes. This means comprises a recess extending inwardly from the side of one of the claws and formed with a back wall 4A, a straight side wall 5 and an opposite side wall 6 formed with a sharpened transverse ridge 1 at one of its ends and directed toward the straight wall 5.

In the modification of the invention shown in Figure 4, I first form a recess H) in the side of one of the claws 3A. Within this recess I secure by means of screws ll an insert piece l2 formed with a channel having a flat side wall 5A and an opposite wall 6A. The wall 6A is formed with a sharpened transverse ridge IA at one of its edges. By this arrangement the insert piece may be made of high grade steel and applied to a hammer head made of lower grade or less expensive steel.

The approximate maximum diameter of a'nail which either form of the invention is capable of gripping is indicated by broken lines 8 in Figure 4 wherein it will be seen that the sharpened ridge 1A or I will bite into one side of a nail shank while the sharpened outermost edge 9A or 9 of the wall 5A or 5 will bite into the opposite side of the nail shank.

The position of the nail shank indicated by the lines 8 is illustrative of only one of many different sizes of nail shanks that may be gripped by the recess which may be presented to the nail shank in a wide range of angles under various actual working conditions.

Instead of attempting to pull a nail by one movement of the lever or handle 2 as heretofore, the nail may be gripped by the recess or insert piece 12 intermittently and progressively as'the nail is being withdrawn from the wood at a point in fixed relation to the fulcrum point of the hammer head so that maximum leverage is obtained throughout the pulling operation instead of gradually diminishing as it does when the nail is gripped between and pulled by the conventional jaws 3.

While I have shown a particular form of embodiment of my invention, I am aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

I claim:

A hammer-head having a pair of claws extending outwardly therefrom, a recess formed inwardly from one side of one of said claws and formed with substantially parallel side walls, an insert piece removably secured within said recess, a channel extending through said insert piece and being formed with a back wall a fiat side wall sharpened. along one of its edges at one end of said channel and an opposite side wall having a sharpened transverse rib formed therein along one edge thereof at the opposite end of the channel, whereby a work piece inserted within said channel will be gripped on one of its sides by said ridge and on its opposite side by said sharpened end of said straight wall of the channel upon angular movement of said claw with respect to said work piece.

HAL BAKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 151,907 Parker June 9, 1874 1,656,652 Thorson Jan. 17, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 11,560 Australia Feb. 3, 1928 

